As soon as he left the palace, Li Qing went to the back hall of the Yamen of the Ministry of War and found Yu Qian.
"Where is Wang Shangshu?"
"I'm not feeling well. I'm on vacation." Yu Qian knew what Li Qing meant, and he waved away the government officials at the door and said, "Although Wang Shangshu is dissatisfied with the emperor's actions, he can still deal with serious matters."
"He really won't collude with those people?" Li Qing was suspicious.
Yu Qian smiled and said: "Sir, please don't think too badly of civil servants. Every group has good and bad qualities. Even the big landowners have people who are kind and helpful, right?"
Li Qing touched his nose and nodded: "You are right, I am biased against civil servants, and I also think that all civil servants are not good people. This is really not good."
Yu Qian smiled happily. He was a civil servant, so he naturally wanted to rectify the name of his group.
Unexpectedly, Li Qing added: "But I don't think Wang Ji is a good person, but it doesn't matter. Personal morality doesn't matter, as long as he doesn't conflict with us in terms of political opinions."
Yu Qian: -_-||"Sir, this is discriminating against civil servants."
"Indeed." Li Qing did not deny it and shrugged, "The main reason is that their hearts are too dark, otherwise why would Taizu kill so many people?
They did not dare to disobey when Taizu was in power, but since Taizu's death, this group has never been peaceful. "
Li Qing hummed: "If it weren't for Taizong's peace, what would have happened to Ming Dynasty? Do you think I can have no prejudice against civil servants?"
"Sir, I am also a civil servant." Yu Qian said.
Li Qing shook his head: "You are different."
Yu Qian scratched his head and asked curiously, "Since I entered the court, my husband has been cultivating and helping me secretly. Why is this?"
"Because... I like you." Li Qing opened his mouth.
Yu Qian naturally didn't believe it, but seeing that Li Qing didn't want to say anything, he didn't ask any more questions.
He took the initiative to change the topic: "How many people will be left in the capital this time?"
"Forty thousand," Li Qing said with a smile, "Leaving forty thousand can still quell the turmoil. As things develop now, the winner has basically been decided;
Although you are about to face turmoil, the outcome is actually determined. It seems critical, but in fact it is just a matter of course. You don't need to be too nervous, just keep a normal mind. "
Yu Qian said bitterly, "But... I still have to suffer labor pains after all!"
"Punch away with one punch to avoid hundreds of punches!" Li Qing had a different view. "Suppress this evil trend this time, and it will be easier to control in the future."
Yu Qian sighed and nodded silently.
He understood the truth, but... he felt very uncomfortable.
"By the way, sir, does the emperor need Yang Hong this time?" Yu Qian asked.
"How is this person?"
"Absolutely trustworthy." Yu Qian said seriously, "It's not that we are related by marriage. This man is indeed a good general with excellent character. When we got married, it was because of the British father-in-law."
Li Qing nodded: "He is not on the list for this battle, but since he is trustworthy, it would be great to stay and defend the capital."
"This arrangement... is quite good." Yu Qian nodded, feeling a little regretful: "He has not been promoted for many years and has been a little depressed. I thought... he would get a chance this time."
Li Qingxiao asked: "How about I tell the emperor?"
"That's no need." Yu Qian shook his head, "Since it's been decided, let's stick to the original plan. I'm just asking."
Li Qing smiled and taught: "This person, it is better not to restrain himself with extremely high moral standards. As long as his heart is good, he will not stick to trivial matters if he achieves great things;
If you stick to small details, you will never achieve great things! "Li Qing said, "Don't avoid relatives when you are promoted internally. Since he is capable, you can fight for it from the emperor. It is not advisable to blindly pursue selflessness. "
Yu Qian just smiled, obviously not listening to Li Qing's kind words.
Seeing this, Li Qing stopped trying to persuade him. He knew Yu Qian's nature, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to change him in this life.
Everyone's values are different, and what they pursue and insist on are also different. There is no need to impose your will on others.
Li Qing said: "Look for a reason, let the Ministry of Revenue first... forget it, the emperor will probably come to discuss with you in the next two days. Then you and the emperor and Zhang Fu will make a decision."
"Ah?" Yu Qian suddenly became anxious when he saw his give-up attitude, "Sir, won't you participate?"
Li Qing rolled his eyes and teased: "Zhang Fu can command an army, and you have experience in suppressing rebellions. You also know a lot about military affairs. You have been the Minister of War for so many years, but you still don't understand logistics?"
Yu Qian's face heated up and he said sarcastically: "Sir, you are very resourceful. With you here, I feel at ease."
People always want to have someone to rely on, or someone to take care of things. This is a kind of laziness.
Yu Qian didn't have to ask Li Qing to do anything. Even if Li Qing didn't do anything, as long as he stopped somewhere, he would feel at ease.
"Sir, for such a big thing, it's better for you to participate in the whole process." Yu Qian said with a smile, "Even if it's just supervision, don't fish for three days... Ahem, it's a special situation now."
Li Qing said with a smile: "This time it's not about scheming, it's about strength. The three major battalions of the capital are not in vain. As long as we fight steadily, there is no chance of us losing."
"But if you plan carefully, you can reduce the loss even lower, right?" Yu Qian said.
"Okay, okay, that's all I'll do." Li Qing reluctantly agreed.
Yu Qian smiled and nodded. When he saw Li Qing turning around to leave, he asked, "Where are you going, sir?"
"I'm a little tired after going to morning and afternoon mornings these two days. I'll go back and have a rest." Li Qing waved his hand and left without looking back.
Yu Qian: "..."
——
The next day, in the court hall.
The tense atmosphere between the monarch and his ministers became more and more intense. Even the eunuchs on duty felt that something was wrong, and the air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
The relationship between the emperor and his ministers remains the same as before, but there is discord everywhere.
Zhu Qizhen didn't care. He had prepared for the worst, so he had nothing to fear.
At the end of the morning court, Zhu Qizhen deliberately stayed in court. The officials were annoyed, but there was nothing they could do.
Zhu Qizhen sighed: "In recent years, the revenue of the national treasury has been decreasing year by year, and it has even reached the point where it cannot make ends meet. Although the food is sufficient, the gold and silver reserves have shrunk seriously..."
The ministers listened quietly and did not answer any questions, deliberately ignoring him.
Zhu Qizhen was not self-conscious or embarrassed at all. He continued to talk to himself, and when the preparation was in place, he launched his ultimate move:
"So, I decided to reopen the silver mine and increase the revenue of the treasury!"
Now, I can't stop talking.
On the surface, the silver mines have stopped mining, but in fact they have been mining, but they are mining secretly. Local officials and Beijing officials have taken advantage of them and put all the silver into their own pockets.
Once reopened, their financial path will be cut off.
There are still higher costs for doing trade, but mining silver mines is different. It is simply picking up money.
During the Xuande Dynasty, a total of more than 2.3 million taels were mined in ten years, while in the orthodox five years, only 21,100 taels were mined.
You can imagine how greedy these people are.
At present, the little emperor is very ambitious. Once the silver mines reopen, how can they make such a big profit?
Not even a hair can be harvested, and the person responsible for supervising the mining will most likely be a eunuch.
"The emperor is the ruler of all people and is rich all over the world. Why does he care about these petty profits?" Chen Shan, the cabinet minister, said, "It is true that silver courses can increase the income of the Ming Dynasty, but it is pitifully small;
Moreover, mineral mining is very dangerous, and many workers have lost their lives for it. I hope the emperor will think twice. "
"I second the proposal." Wang Xing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, came out and said, "How can the emperor sacrifice the great righteousness and ignore the people for small profits?"
Wang Zhi went out to work, "The emperor is the boat, and the people are the water. Water can carry the boat but also capsize it. The emperor's move is not done by a wise king. If it arouses people's resentment, the consequences will be disastrous."
Have you started laying the groundwork so soon... Zhu Qizhen sneered in his heart and said lightly: "During the Taizong and Xuanzong periods, the silver class was tens of hundreds of thousands of taels every year. With such high-intensity mining, it is not known that many workers died. ;
Do you have any idea how much I will receive every year after I ascend the throne?
Or do you mean that Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xuanzong were not Mingjuns? "
No one dared to take the big pot.
Whoever dared to say something was wrong, Zhu Qizhen chopped him up in minutes, they could refute, and even curse the living emperor, at least they could have the excuse of "loyalty being harsh to the ears";
But if you say that the dead emperor is wrong, then the nature is different. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is against the Ming Dynasty!
Zhu Qizhen said flatly: "Please don't try to persuade me any more, I have made up my mind! Disband the dynasty!"
"Long live my emperor, long live the emperor." The ministers saluted and were very obedient and did not try to persuade him any further.
Because there is no need, the situation has developed to this point, and only a big shock can make someone compromise.
…
After the court meeting that day, the court became more depressed, and fewer people spoke at the court meeting.
So much so that many people would rather stay silent than speak out in court.
As the days passed, the conflicts between the monarch and his ministers became more and more serious. Finally, at the end of the entire court meeting, the words of all the ministers combined could not compare to Zhu Qizhen alone.
A month later, Fujian came to report that Japanese pirates were rampant and people's livelihood was difficult. There were many people who fell into the trap and became bandits. Mining in the mines was not going smoothly, and more than ten lives were lost in a row...
Without imperial power in the countryside, local officials and gentry would have too much maneuverability.
And the local officials and gentry have close relations with the Beijing officials. It can be said that these Beijing officials can control remotely.
Of course, this situation is not unique to the Ming Dynasty. It has happened in all dynasties, and it was even more domineering before.
This is also the fundamental reason why emperors since ancient times have believed that the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats should share the world.
It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I really can’t.
The reason why Song Taizu swore not to kill officials, ministers, and scholar-bureaucrats was not because of politeness to virtuous officials, nor because of benevolence;
He can't do it!
Let me ask, which emperor doesn’t want to hold the power of life and death?
It’s not that Taizu of the Song Dynasty was incompetent, but that the political soil of the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were different. The Ming Dynasty was pushed to the Yuan Dynasty for reconstruction, but the Song Dynasty was not, at least not completely.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the scholar-bureaucrats were very powerful, and Song Taizu had no choice.
This is the fundamental reason for the short life of the Song Dynasty, because most resources were not reallocated.
When the distribution of resources is extremely uneven and the lower class people cannot survive, the world will be in chaos, and then a new dynasty will be established to redistribute resources;
However, as time goes by, resources will still be concentrated on a small number of people, leading to an uneven distribution pattern again. This is a historical necessity and the reason for the rise and fall of dynasties in the past.
Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty was much better than the Song Dynasty.
However, the officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty felt bad. They envied the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty and wanted to be like them, and worked hard for this.
On the fifth day after the rebellion in Fujian and Jianzhou, Japanese pirates also broke out along the coasts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. However, compared with Fujian, it was much better. At least there was no large number of people turning into bandits.
Everything is so coincidental and expected.
Zhu Qizhen had been prepared for a long time, but when this moment actually arrived, he was still inevitably frightened and angry.
This time, he deeply realized that the so-called Ninth Five-Year Plan and the so-called common master of the world were just whitewashing. An emperor without real power was really just a mascot.
Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Qizhen's eyes were cold and he said in a cold voice: "Since kingly ways are not enough, then I will use domineering ways!"
"Wang Zhen!"
"My servant is here." Wang Zhen stepped forward, bowed down, and said respectfully, "Please give me your orders, Your Majesty."
"Go, Xuan Li Qing, Zhang Fu, and Yu Qian, come to Qianqing Palace to see me immediately!"
"Yes." Wang Zhen clasped his fists heavily, a bit like a military commander, "My slave, please leave."
Zhu Qizhen stood up, with passion in his chest and fighting spirit in his eyes.
——
ps: Well, today is the holiday, so there are only two chapters. After all... who is not a baby anymore (`へ??*)ノ
